You don’t typically write a Bible study for yourself – but sometimes the person who learns the most from a study is the one who authored it! In this author spotlight, Victoria White shares how writing a unit of TOGETHER encouraged and challenged her as she deals with chronic Lyme disease. This difficult illness causes fatigue and flu-like symptoms that are difficult to overcome. Hear more from Victoria by working through her study Living with Pain and visiting her blog, VictoryAndLyme.
Participating as an author was a gift for me, as I work in the Church Division of CLC Network, where it is our mission to create an atmosphere of inclusion for people of all abilities in their church communities. I love to write, and especially create lesson plans (English Education major!), and this project brought all of these passions together into a project I could actually do while I struggled with my own chronic illness.
God definitely arranges things just as He sees fit: giving me the unit on pain in the midst of my struggle with chronic Lyme disease gave me a personal need to seek God for strength, reason, clarity, and hope in and beyond pain, and an intense desire to share what I was learning. Though God made it clear to me as I began trying to write, that I was not tasked with sharing my thoughts or stories, but with engaging people in Histhoughts and stories, to be taught by Him through this study.
I know that a small group supporting one another in their faith that is a mixed group in age and ability level will bring their pain to the table. I truly believe this study is a tremendous table setting in which everyone can face, grapple with, and find peace with all that is on their plates. I really want to join (or start?) a group using this, and all the innovative and engaging TOGETHER curriculum!
